Lawmakers with first-hand experience using food stamps call on Trump not to cut program

Nine U.S. lawmakers, all of whom have used food stamp programs in the past, have signed on to a letter urging President Trump to turn away from his proposed $15 billion in cuts to the program. 

In a letter sent Thursday to President Trump, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) joined Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill,), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) and Alma Adams (D-N.C.) in asking the administration to remove “all intended cuts” to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from its budget. 

“We are writing today on behalf of the over 36 million American families who currently depend on SNAP, like ours once did, to make ends meet and help the next generation achieve upward mobility,” the lawmakers wrote.

While the president’s budget proposal is unlikely to become law, the administration has already introduced tightened requirements for the program projected to remove nearly 70,000 people from SNAP.

Krishnamoorthi, who said his family briefly used the program after immigrating from India in the 1970s, said it was vital to let the White House know “you really are touching on a support system that a broader swath of society utilizes than you may think.”

The cuts are part of a proposed 6 percent reduction in domestic spending in the budget, which also includes cuts to housing assistance and controversial work requirements to Medicaid.